It was a classic game of contrasting halves, with the first
offering little excitement.
The third-placed visitors forced the first corner of the game
in the 12th minute but it came to nothing and even that early on it
appeared that goalmouth incidents could be at a premium.
In the 15th minute Rocco Quinn's whipped free-kick from the
left was fumbled by Dons goalkeeper Jamie Langfield amid a throng of
bodies but Kilmarnock failed to take advantage.
Moments later, Aberdeen stopper Andrew Considine was rather
harshly adjudged to have fouled Sylla 30 yards from goal but Peter Leven
blasted his shot against the defensive wall.
Kilmarnock had the slight edge but all too often the ball
bounced uncontrollably around a packed midfield which afforded little
time to players in possession.
In the 26th minute Langfield again fumbled a searching
free-kick from wide, this time from Leven, but recovered quickly to
block David Lilley's snap-shot and the Pittodrie side emerged unscathed.
Aberdeen were being pressed further back towards Langfield
but the home side were getting little closer to actually scoring.
Momo Sylla's cross from wide on the right was met by Gary
Wales but the former Hearts striker headed wide from 10 yards out,
falling awkwardly doing so.
In the 45th minute Naismith evaded Dons skipper Russell
Anderson to latch onto a Quinn pass but Langfield was quick off his mark
to block the shot. It was the best chance of the half.
Kilmarnock goalkeeper Graeme Smith was still waiting to be
tested.
Lovell replaced Smith at the interval as Aberdeen tried to
shake themselves out of their lethargy by adding to their firepower and
tweaking their formation.
In the 53rd minute Richie Byrne was booked for a reckless
foul on Sylla on the right touchline but Leven's free-kick was
confidently clutched out of the air by Langfield, the Dons keeper
appearing to have recovered from his nervous start.
Moments later, Quinn found himself inside the Aberdeen
penalty area taking possession of Leven's clever pass but the midfielder
screwed his left-footed shot from 16 yards wide of the far post.
But in the 58th minute, the visitors, in the most fortuitous
of circumstances, took the lead courtesy an own goal by James Fowler.
As Aberdeen pressed the home side back into their own penalty
box, the Kilmarnock midfielder tried to cut out an attempted one-two
between Gary Dempsey and Craig Brewster.
But from eight yards out Fowler only succeeded in heading
past the helpless Smith who had come off his line to gather.
It was a slice of luck undeserving of the Pittodrie side's
play and in the 68th minute things got worse for Killie when they fell
two behind.
Sylla
was penalised for a foul on Byrne and when Scott Severin's free-kick
came into the box, the home defence failed to clear which allowed
Anderson to poke the ball home from close range.
Despite their two goal lead, the Dons still did not look
convincing.
And in the 84th minute Kilmarnock were handed a lifeline when
Naismith scored from the spot after referee Brian Winter
had awarded a penalty for an Anderson handball in the box after
consulting with his assistant.
Kilmarnock pounded the Dons' penalty box, with substitute
Colin Nish, on for Wales, sending one shot past the post when he should
have at least tested Langfield.
However, the Pittodrie side held on for the three points
which they did not deserve.
84 mins
